With a Little Help from Mum
by Marauder'sFlower
Summary: Lily has always told her mother everything, but mothers have the habit of being embarrassing and saying the wrong things. When James comes to visit, Lily worries that her mother is going to say the wrong thing. OneShot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Harry Potter universe.**

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Christmas has passed and I had three days before I headed back to Hogwarts. My father was back at work and my sister, Petunia, was off at some resort with her friends. Today was a day for me and my mum.

Mum and I had always been close and being away from her nine months of the year was difficult. I sent hundreds of letters to my family so they could continue knowing every detail of my life. When I came home we'd talk about everything and during the moments when it was just my mother and me, we'd talk about everything and more.

Mum was my confidant. I could tell her things I could tell no one else. She had heard me make fun of teachers, she knew the thrill I got every time I learned a new spell, and she was the only person who know I was hopelessly in love with James Potter.

James happened to be the topic of the day. We were in the kitchen making peanut butter cookies, a double batch since we tended to eat half the dough before we cooked it. Over the years, the best heart-to-heart talks with my mum were while we were making cookies. This was the first time I had ever claimed to be in love and, of course, Mum would need to talk about it.

"I just don't see why you're keeping your feelings a secret. Does he still like you?" She asked as she popped a ball of cookie dough in her mouth.

I nodded. "I'm pretty sure. He still asks me out from time to time."

"Then what's the problem?"

How do you explain James Potter to your mother? How do you explain very complex feelings that you yourself don't know how to describe? I was at a loss of what to say. Thankfully, the doorbell saved me. My mother frowned as I left to answer the door. She knew I would try to avoid the topic when I came back.

"Hi Lily!"

"James?"

Yes, James Potter was standing in my doorway. Talk about a coincidence.

"What are you doing here? How did you even know where my house was?"

He grinned. "Yesterday an owl arrived with a letter from your friend, Mary. She thought you could use a wizard friend, but since she was at her grandparents' house she told me to stop by instead."

"That was nice of her, and you. Would you like to come inside?"

"I didn't come all this way just to see your porch."

Giggling, I led him into the kitchen, where Mum stood picking cookie dough out of her red hair. I sighed; it was too late for a good impression now.

"Mum, this is my friend, James Potter."

Her face lit up as she held out her flour-covered hand. "It's very nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"Good or bad?" He asked, giving her his all too charming smile.

Mum melted just a bit before grabbing her composure. "Both. In second year she thought you were cute."

"Mum!"

"Lily, that was five years ago, it can't hurt to tell him now. Besides, by fourth year you couldn't stand to be in the same room as him." James chuckled. I began to worry about what my mother would say with that big mouth of hers.

"Although," she continued, turning from me to James, "you seem to be on her good side again this year."

I glared at her. She cleared her throat. "Would you like a cookie?" She held out the tray."They're peanut butter. We've always made chocolate chip, but Lily wanted a change this year. I hope that's all right."

"Thank you," he grabbed two and sat down at my kitchen table. "Peanut butter cookies are my favorite."

"How convenient." Mum said in that all-knowing mother voice. She smirked at me.

"These are delicious, better than the ones the Hogwarts house elves make. Do you have a secret ingredient?"

I swear Mum purred. "They're made with love." Then she giggled at her own joke. I rolled my eyes and hoped James had no idea what love my mother had been referring to. "Does your mother ever make you peanut butter cookies?"

He shook his head. "No, she's really into exotic and complex foods. She's very disappointed in my love for peanut better sandwiches. They're too simple and Muggle for her taste."

I could see the gears turning in my mother's head. "You're love for peanut butter sandwiches might have rubbed off on my daughter. She eats one before bed every night."

My eyes widened. How could she tell James that? He'd see that I only ate those sandwiches because they reminded me of him. She might as well tell him I'm completely obsessed with everything he does, which is only half true.

"Every night after patrol, " explained James, "I drag Lily to the kitchen for a peanut butter sandwich. It's a very addicting habit."

"How was your holiday, James?" I blurted before my mother could say anything else embarrassing.

"All right." With his attention now on me, Mum took a moment to look him over. She nodded approvingly. "It's been nice seeing my parents, but by this point they've figured out all our tricks. Sirius and I have been forced to have safe and responsible fun."

"James," Mum stole his attention again. "Are you a risk taker?"

I had no idea what she was planning, but the look on her face told me to be afraid.

"I try to be." His chest puffed up. "I get a thrill from doing the dangerous and risky. There's just something about not knowing whether or not everything will turn out right in the end, but you have to try anyway."

I inwardly groaned. First my mother was checking out James, and now he's showing off for her. I am never ever ever going to bring a friend into my house again.

"Let's see how you'd answer this question." I knew I was in for trouble now. "If you were in love, would you try to hide or would you tell the girl?"

I was going to have a heart attack. This conversation shouldn't have happened. I was going to wake up and find this was all a nightmare. My heart was beating quicker than humanly possible, and it sped up even more when James winked at me and said he didn't believe in hiding feelings. Mum's smile grew even bigger. Oh yes, a heart attack was coming.

"Mum! What kind of question is that?" I gasped.

"Lily," she replied as if I was at fault, "I just wanted to see if all seventeen-year-olds hid their feelings or if you were the only one having a problem."

"Lily's in love?" The look on James's face was a mix of confusion, hurt, and curiosity. I groaned and slammed my face onto the counter. My mother was a traitor.

"Oops, I don't think I was supposed to tell." She couldn't fool me. I knew she made plans to spill the beans the second James walked into the kitchen. I grumbled into the counter. "Lily, sweetheart, this is good. Now you have some one else to help you with your problem. I'm sure James knows more about the situation than I do. Why don't you tell him who you're in love with?"

I raised my face so I was resting on my chin and glared at my traitorous parent. "I'd rather not."

"It's okay, you can tell me." James said, trying to sound cool and indifferent, but I knew him too well.

"No!" I hid my face again.

"Lily." Mum was using her 'you're in trouble' voice. How could she do this to me? She blabs my biggest secret and then expects me to declare my undying love to James Potter. What kind of mother did I have anyway?

The phone rang. I sat up. "Shouldn't you answer that?" I asked Mum, desperate for a change in subject.

"I'll get it when you tell James."

I groaned.

RING

"I could always tell him myself."

"No!"

RING

"She's in love with..." I covered my mother's mouth with my hand.

"Professor Dumbledore." I finished for her. Mum frowned, but James looked slightly amused. To be honest, I had no idea why I said that. I was more into the Quidditch player type, but I wasn't going to tell the truth and the first name that popped into my head was Sirius Black. That wouldn't have gone over well. So I went with the second name I could think of. I got crazy when I was panicking.

"He's a little old for you, isn't he?" James asked.

I crossed my arms, freeing my mother's mouth. "I'm mature for my age. We could make it work."

RING

That phone was driving me insane, or was it my mother?

"She's in love with..." Mum started again.

"YOU!" I yelled, unable to take the stress any longer.

Mum finally answered the phone on its last ring. "Hello? Hi Charlotte!" She ran upstairs to talk to her best friend, conveniently leaving me alone with James. My once homey kitchen now felt unbearably awkward.

I scowled at my mother's retreating figure. "I'm going to hex her."

"Really?" James got up stepped closer to me, uncomfortably closer. "I was just going to thank her."

"For what?" I breathed. He was only two inches from me. I lost all power to concentrate.

"This." His hand cupped my chin and brought my lips to his. It was a quick, soft kiss. I sighed happily and stopped plotting ways to hurt my mother.

"Hey Lily. Is there something you need to tell me?" With that glint in his eyes and a goofy grin, James was more attractive to me than ever.

"I love you?" I guessed.

"It's about time." He pulled me into another kiss, not as sweet and gentle as the first, but much more satisfying. I would be happy doing this all day. However, at some point we needed to catch our breath. "What's your mum's first name?" He asked.

"Elizabeth." I hummed, to content to really care what he was saying.

"Elizabeth Potter." He mused. "I like it."

"Wait. What?" There was no reason to connect my mother with James's last name.

He grinned. "I was thinking we should name our first daughter after your mother. Elizabeth Potter seems like a good name to me."

"I perfectly agree." I giggled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and yanked him into another round of snogging. Of course, it was then that my mother decided to enter back into the kitchen. She was still on the phone.

"Yes, Lily is home for another three days. She's right here in my kitchen, snogging her new boyfriend. Yes, I'll tell them." Mum pulled the phone away from her ear to talk to us. James and I had pulled apart by this point.

"Charlotte said she wanted one of your children named after her

James nodded. "Elizabeth Charlotte Potter. I like that very much." I rolled my eyes

Mum started talking into the phone again. "Lily is making a face, but she'll come around. You know how she's always taken her time on important matters. She's so stubborn sometimes; I practically have to force her to do the simplest tasks. James is willing to do it though. He seemed rather pleased with the idea. Yes, he is a very nice boy and very good looking at that. No, not just compared to Vernon. James is quite the catch."

I laughed. My mother was again my favorite person in the world.

James's hand slipped into mine. Okay, Mum was my _second_ favorite.

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**A/N: Don't you just love mothers? I wrote this story in honor of Mother's Day, and it's dedicated to my own mom. I based Lily's mother after mine. Same name, same red hair, same love of cookie dough. I do tell my mom everything and we're very close, but she does have that problem of embarrassing me. However, if James Potter walked into my kitchen the last thing on my mind would be my mom. **

**This one's for all the mothers in the world.  
**


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